Of Myths and Monsters
by AimedSiren
Summary: AU- In one fiery night, Madge lost everything. The prim, proper and pampered mayor's daughter dies in the fire and what emerges is something that makes even the things that go bump in the night want to go run and hide. Nobody dares get in her way. That is, unless your name happens to be Gale Hawthorne, then you just seem to have a talent of getting under her skin and staying there.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, this is my first ****Hunger Games fanfic. Its AU, but there will be a lot of parallels to the book series. My spelling and grammar could use a little work so my apologies in advance for any mistakes you come across. I have an addictive personality so I wrote, and edited this chapter in the span in a day so its probably a little rough. I really could use a beta reader so if your interested shoot me a message. I would really appreciate your help.**

**I wrote this in first person, but ended up changing it to third. I hope you guys like it! Enjoy~**

Madge woke to the smell of smoke. It stung her eyes and she coughed violently, lungs burning. Stumbling out of bed she rubbed at watering eyes, trying to clear them so she could see what was going on. After several disorienting seconds, her vision cleared but doesn't prove to be much use considering her bedroom is clouded in dark heavy smoke; huge black plumes billowing outside her window.

"DAD," Madge tries to yell but ended up doubled over and coughing from smoke inhalation. "MOM?" She cried hoarsely, as she hacks and stumbles half blind into her bedroom door, yelping when her hand comes in contact with the door knob. Cradling the burnt appendage to her chest, she looks around the room for something to protect herself against the scalding hot metal long enough to open the door. But the room is so dark and clouded with smoke that she can barely see three feet past her own face. Wracked with another coughing fit she almost falls to her knees. Her lungs feel as if they are on fire. Wheezing and feeling lightheaded she tries but fails time and time again to fill her lungs with something other than smoke and carbon dioxide.

Madge falls to the ground, her mind foggy from lack of oxygen. A loud "thud" brings her back to her senses and the door behind her shivers violently as something collides into it from the other side. There is a brief pause, before it flies open barley staying on its hinges.

A dark figure rushes through the doorway and to the blonde's aid asking her if shes' hurt. Madge shakes her head slowly; blinking stupidly at the man crouched beside her before finally recognizing him as her father's bodyguard - Adam.

"Come on, we need to get out of here!" He yells into her ear as he pulls her roughly to her feet. Part of the ceiling falls, collapsing down onto her bed and lighting it ablaze almost instantaneously. Adam practically carries Madge as they run down the burning hallway, towards a set of stairs that the servants use to access the rooms on the fourth floor of the Undersee mansion.

Adam pushed the still dazed girl forward into the stair well, which miraculously is mostly free of smoke or fire. She pauses, greedily gulping down several breaths of somewhat fresh air while Adam slams the door shut behind them. Now supplied with an adequate amount of oxygen, Madge's mind chooses this moment to finally catch up with her.

"Where are my mother and father?"

Impatient with her lack of movement, Adam yells at her to move; trying to hurry her down the stairs.

"Where are they?" She yells back at the bodyguard, digging in her heels stubbornly and refusing to take another step without an adequate answer.

Adam huffs in frustration, but Madge sees an emotion other than anger flit across his face- grief. She feels her heart drop sickeningly into her stomach and suddenly she cant breathe again.

She knows. She knows what has become of her only family before she sees Adam shake his head and mutter a somber "Gone,"

Her knees feel weak and almost give out from beneath her as she was overcome with shock and grief. Tears stream down her cheeks, and she can barely find her voice to ask him, how? Adam just shook his head again and instead placed a hand on the small of her back, guiding her carefully down the stairs.

They had made it just past the second floor landing when the door leading out into the hallway bursts open with the sound of shattering of wood. The couple froze; staring up at the man silhouetted in the doorway.

For a brief second Madge's chest swells with hope and relief, thinking that her father had somehow managed to survive the flames and that everything was going to turn out okay after all. But then the flames in the hallway behind the man illuminated the figure's face and all her hopes soured instantly into a fresh wave of terror as hungry red eyes stare down at them. The man smiled reveling long razor sharp fangs in a predatory grin.

"Ahh, there you are," He purrs in deep, lightly accented voice. "We've been looking for you everywhere."

They lock eyes, his red irises clashing against her azure blue with the promise of violence. Adam stepped forward, breaking up Madge's terrifying staring match with the stranger.

"Let her go." Adam said his voice low and his posture protective. "She's just a 17 year old human girl. What threat could she possibly pose to a family of vampires like the Snows'?"

Madge's mind reels as she looks from Adam to the strange man and back again. Did the Snows' have something to do with the fire? She knew that her father had made enemies with them when he had passed policies that would prevent human trafficking and child exploitation. The Snows- known for kidnapping children and forcing them to fight to death in an arena were none too thrilled with the new laws, she knew. But what was this nonsense about vampires? There was no possible way Madge had heard Adam correctly. The smoke inhalation must have finally gotten to her.

The man laughed and stepped forward on the landing, just a few steps above them. In the dim light of the stairwell she could see that he was wearing a dark colored suit and tie, looking like a classic mobster. The suit was unbuttoned and she noticed there were dark stains splattered all over the white collared shirt he wore underneath. _Blood._

"Sorry, no can do." He said in a tone that didn't sound the least bit apologetic.

"The boss has given his orders, and he doesn't take it lightly when jobs are left half done." Then he pauses, looking Madge over with those cruel red eyes as he licks his lips hungrily.

"On second thought, maybe I'll just keep her for myself. As a plaything."

Madge cowered. Shivering, she hugs herself trying to pull her thin nightgown down to cover more of her bare legs from his view.

Suddenly Adam pulls a black 9 mm pistol from his suit jacket and fires three rounds into the man. The first bullet goes directly into the center of his forehead, while the other two pierced his chest, right where his heart would be.

Madge shrieks and falls onto her backside; trying to cover her ears with her hands and watches, horrified as the man toppled over and falls into a heap. Shocked at what had just transpired, she closes her eyes and tries to block out a world that was falling apart around her.

A firm hand grips her shoulders and shakes her roughly. Madge opens her eyes to see that she and Adam almost nose to nose.

"We have to get going!" He yells into her face.

Madge looks past him and back at the body stunned, unable to move a muscle. Adam glances back and began to shake her harder, trying to pull her to her feet, panicking.

"Get up!" He shouts desperately he yanking her to her feet.

"God dammit girl, move! You have to run!"

Adam pushes her and she stumbles, almost falling down the next flight of stairs. Madge manages to grab onto the railing to regain her balance. She cant help but to look up and watch Adam rapidly firing rounds of bullets into the man that should have been dead. He glanced down at her, and began to yell something when, his gun clicks empty and words that had looked like _'RUN NOW' _ turned into a garbled scream as the man in black picked Adam up effortlessly and slammed him to the ground like a rag doll; biting savagely into his neck and ripping open his throat.

Madge froze unable to breath as she felt something warm and wet splatter across her face. She stared up in absolute terror at the monster that was ripping the man that had protected her since she was a child into pieces.

The violence stopped, and she suddenly found herself staring into a pair of glowing red eyes that she is positive will haunt her dreams for the rest of her life. That is, if she somehow managed to survive.

He growled, and Madge came to her senses and fled.

Incredibly, she managed to make it down two flights of stairs and into the ground floor laundry room without being eaten. She slammed the door to the stairwell shut, fumbling with the lock, and barley managing to turn the bolt just before something thudded heavy into wooden door.

Ominously, everything went silent. All she could hear was the rumbling of the washers and dryers as they worked loads of laundry that that would probably never be worn ever at that the door, her heart beat loudly in her ears as she took a few steps backwards, toward another door that stood closed some dozen feet away on the other side of the room.

Suddenly the world went into slow motion as the locked door flies apart in a shower of a million pieces of wood. And the next thing Madge knew, she was airborne. She sailed through the air so slowly that she was able to count the ceiling tiles as she flew by. Within the blink of an eye, time and gravity caught up and sent her crashing into a bruised heap onto the hard tiled floor.

Madge groaned and barley managed to sit up in time to watch her assailant step casually over the wreckage of door and into the room. The emergency lights flicker ominously; deepening the hallows his face and eyes as the man stalks towards her smiling and drenched in blood.

"There you are," He purrs, watching her attempt escape, as she scrambles backwards and away from him. He sighs at her in mock exasperation.

"Margret, you must stop this. You cannot fight the inevitable. If it helps, I promise to make it quick."

Ignoring him, she continues to scoot backwards in a vain attempt to survive. Her hand brushes something sharp at the same moment her back collides with a solid surface. Trapped, with nowhere let to run, she glance down to see what her hand had come in contact with. She reached out and grabbed a sharp piece of wood, about the length of her forearm and barely and inch and a half in diameter.

Up against a hungry vampire that would rip her apart with the same casual ease that it took her to get dressed in the morning, Madge felt as if her weapon felt was as flimsy and useless as a toothpick.

Seeing her trapped and helpless seemed to arouse some sort of instinct within the vampire. His demeanor changed from taunting to predatory and he crouched down low into a stance that reminded Madge of a big cat about to pounce upon its prey. He hissed, baring razor sharp fangs at her.

Madge doesn't know if it was a moment of insanity, or just her wanting this nightmare to be over,when she defiantly locks eyes with the vampire and tilts her head up to expose the tender skin of neck.

He lunges for it almost instantaneously, launching himself through the air so quickly he's nothing but a blur. The vampire crashes into her with the force of a semi-truck, and it turns out that Madge is actually leaning against the door that she had seen earlier from across the room. Understandably, it hadn't been built to withstand the force supernatural strength generated by a blood thirsty vampire and crashed open, coming off its hinges to follow them as they flew into the adjacent room. Vampire still a top of her, Madge hits the ground hard, her head colliding with the granite tiling with a sickening CRACK! Momentum slides the pair backwards for several more feet before jerking them to a halt.

The world spun in dizzy circles as Madge fought a losing battle to stay conscious. The vampire jerked violently from his position on top of her and she felt his hot breath graze her neck. _Well at least I won't be conscious for the throat ripping-blood sucking part, _she thought as her vision went dark and sighed resigning herself to her fate.

* * *

Madge woke to the sound of people shouting and sirens blaring in the distance. She laid for a moment dazedly on her back, feeling the cool stone of floor through the thin fabric of her night gown; wondering distantly why it felt as if a heavy weight was pressing down on her chest. Something tickled her cheek and she turned her head to look right into the vacant and empty stare of the person lying on her. Memories of the past few hours in hell rushed back to her, and the terror of remembering that how the vampire had miraculously survived numerous ordinarily fatal gunshot wounds, gave her strength to push the limp body off her, and she scrambled away form it with a terrified squeak.

Not knowing what else to do, Madge just sat there; staring at what she hoped was a dead vampire and wondering how she managed to still be alive. After what felt like an adequate amount of time had passed without the monster so much as wiggling a toe, Madge felt it was safe to declare it permanently dead. Obviously a sharp stick to the heart got the job done when it came to killing vampires.

Seeing no further reason to stick around with the body, Madge slowly rose, her body stiff and sore from the multiple flights and collisions it had endured that day. She limped tiredly into an adjacent room, which happened to be the large kitchen. As she crossed it, Madge caught her refection in one of the numerous stainless steel appliances. She stopped to stare at herself, barley recognizing the girl reflected back at her.

Deep dark circles framed her dull blue eyes and she looked as if she had been the murder victim at a brutal crime scene. Blood matted her golden blond hair, and was splattered in patches across her pale face. Her once white nightgown was now a rusty brown.

On closer examination, she noticed dozens of small burns and cuts littering the exposed skin on her hands, arms, legs and face. A ring of purple bruises were starting to from around her neck. Tilting her head to the side, she saw a pair of shallow puncture wounds. Madge lifted a hand to the back of her head and wincing when it grazed a large lump the size of a tennis ball; the surrounding hair was and matted with drying blood. She whimpered as the reality of what she had just endured came crashing down on her. All she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry until help found her.

A voice rung out in a nearby room. Whomever it was, was giving orders. Madge opened her mouth, about to call out and let them know she was there and in need of help, when the voice said something the others that made her heart just about stop cold in her chest.

"I want you all check the house thoroughly for any survivors." It said "Kill anyone you come across. No one is to make it of here alive, do you understand me?" He asked, his tone cold and commanding.

Madge didn't wait around to hear the mummer of accent; she was already out the back door and running for the property line as quickly as possible. In the distance the blaze that was her home gradually shrunk down into the size of a glowing ember. Tears streamed down her cheeks in rivers as she mourned the loss of everything she once had and left who and what she once was behind in flames.

**Well that was the end of chapter 1/prologue. I'm in need of a good beta reader because I get really lazy when it comes to editing and checking for spelling and grammatical mistakes, so if any of you are up to the job let me know, I would be grateful for the help.**

**I hope I did an okay job and you guys enjoyed it. Let me know what you guys thought about it, and any comments/critiques you may have in a reviews. Reviews also work as excellent encouragement for me to hurry up and get future chapters out more quickly. Just an FYI.  
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**Thanks for reading, and let me know how I did. See you soon!**

**AimedSiren**


	2. Chapter 2 part 1

**Chapter 2, yay! Sadly no sign of Gale just yet… or is there? Hopefully you guys will like who appears towards the end. Im kinda feel bad for what I make Madge go through, but hey, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger right? So if we go by that logic, Madge is going to turn out to a real badass. I can't wait! Anyways I'll let you get to the story. Enjoy!**

**Oh and by the way, I decided to change Madge's age from 15 to 17 (almost 18) for plot purposes, just an FYI. **

A business man sits all alone on a park bench reading the daily paper, completely unaware of the fact that he was being watched. He flipped through the newspaper casually, stopping here and there to read an article but was obviously not particularly interested neither the paper or his surroundings. This gives his stalker the opportunity to sneak up close, without detection.

The man glanced down at the expensive watch on his wrist and sighs, tossing the newspaper carelessly onto the bench seat beside him as he gets to his feet. For a moment he pauses, scanning the heavily wooded area of the park when he hears movement in the nearby bushes. Seeing nothing, he attributes the sound to a squirrel or some other small woodland creature and walks away slowly up the deserted path and towards the bustling city.

Seeing the him take his leave, a crouching figure steps from of the shadows of a nearby tree and onto the dirt path. It moves forward slowly, eyes fixed on the man's retreating back before making a detour to the recently vacated park bench.

Margret Undersee picks up the abandoned newspaper, and reads the headline on the front page:

**DETROIT MAYOR AND FAMILY DIE IN TRAGIC FIRE AT UNDERSEE MANSION!**

Brow furrowed, she sits down to read the article accompanying the headline:

_A fire believed to be caused by shorted circuits set the Undersee Mansion ablaze late last night. Despite their best efforts, fire fighters and rescue workers arrived at the scene too late to save the Mayor and his family from the flames. After several long hours of fighting to get the fire under control, fire rescue personnel were able to enter and search the premise. There, they discovered and identified a dozen or so charred remains, including those of Mayor Undersee, his wife and his 17 year old daughter Margret… all whose deaths were ruled accidental... no foul play..._

The article went on to talk about how the city would be affected by the tragic loss of its beloved mayor, and summarized the deceased lives and achievements. There was even a date set next week for a memorial service to 'honor' the dead. The article continues onto page 30 and Madge quickly flips through the paper to the aforementioned page. On it is a full list of people whose bodies were found in the fire. Besides her mother, father and herself, some fifteen other individuals were listed; all of whom where maids, housekeepers, or bodyguards. Madge finds herself fighting a fresh wave of tears as she skims over the names of people she had known and loved for the majority of her life.

Near the bottom of the list she comes across a name that makes her feel physically ill. _Adam Kentwort_. Her stomach heaves and Madge has to take several long, deep breaths to steady herself as she tries not to remember how he had been ruthlessly ripped apart, limb from limb trying to protect her from a monster.

How in hell did they come across his body and rule it an accidental death? Madge had seen the damage done first hand, and knew that conclusion was impossible. Deep down inside she knew that somebody had paid off a lot of people to make this all look like an accident. After all, a mob family like the Snows' has very deep pockets.

Madge felt light headed as she carefully ripped the article out of the paper, making sure to take extra care around the photographs of her parents. And it is only when she goes to tuck the newspaper clippings safely away into a pocket, that she fully realizes the severity of her situation.

Barefoot, bruised and dirty; dressed in nothing but a thin, bloody nightgown, for the first time in her life Madge has absolutely nothing. No money, no birth certificate- nothing. Believed to be dead, she has even lost her identity. With somebody paying off the authorities, she knows that she wouldn't have a chance of living past the weeks' end if she did decide to come forward and identify herself as the sole survivor of last night's events. Even if she did go through with that death wish, what could she say? That her family was brutally murdered by the biggest crime family in Detroit? Or oh, maybe she could mention that the Snows also happen to be vampires?

She laughs humorlessly; the press would have a field day with that one! She could almost read the headline now_- Mayor's daughter comes back from the grave with tales of vampires!_

At the thought of vampires she feels something cracking within her, and Madge begins to sobs uncontrollably. What was she going to do now? She had nothing, and the only choice available to her if she wanted to live was to stay dead and go into hiding.

Madge has heard stories of what happened to people, especially girls on the streets of the inner city and alone and helpless she doesn't know how she is going to manage to survive.

* * *

Night falls far too quickly for her liking and feeling uncertain and exposed; Madge decides to set up camp on the relative familiarity of the park bench. Its late summer, but the night is abnormally cold and unable to sleep she sits upright curled huddle into a ball on a freezing bench, shivering violently and fearfully watching the shadows for any signs of possible danger. The hours tick by slowly and Madge has just barely managed to fall into a light doze when the sound of voices startles her awake. She looks up to see two apparently drunk figures a dozen or so yards off in the distance.

Madge knows that they have spotted her, because they immediately make a bee line towards her; stumbling and swaying as they make their way down the dimly illuminated park path. Caught like a deer in head lights, she fights raising panic and looks around desperately for a weapon or an escape route. They are on her before she has a chance to even move a finger.

"Heey thur!" One of the men slurs drunkenly, plopping himself ungracefully besides Madge on the bench, his friend taking a seat on her other side, trapping her between them.

"Whats a girl doin'all alone all the way out here?" He says, burping in her face rudely.

"I bet your reeaal pretty under all blood and dirt!" His friend laughs stupidly and the drunkard grabs Madge's face, trying to concentrate as he squints into it.

"Hey, I tink I recognize you from somewhere!"

Madge yanks herself away from the man and jumps to her feet, trying not to gage from the smell of booze and body odor that is permeating from his pores.

"Aww, don't be like that baby!" The man whines stumbling to his feet, he grabs her wrist in a bruising grip.

Encouraged by his friend's hoots of approval, he pulls Madge close, nuzzling his face into her neck. The moment his stinking hot breath brushes the surface of her skin, a hollow face with cruel red eyes and long white fangs flashes into her mind's eye.

Madge screams, pushing the man back violently so that he falls heavily flat on his back.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, you crazy bitch?" His friend yells at her as he runs clumsily to his fallen friends' side.

Madge falls to the ground cowering, whimpering as she cradles her head in her hands. Scene after scene of last night's events playing before her eyes.

Busy re-witnessing Adam's death for the dozenth time that day, Madge doesn't notice the man she had just knocked onto his ass push his friend away and stalk angrily towards her. Pain lances through her scalp as the man grabs a handful of her dirty blonde hair, using it as leverage to roughly jerk her head back so that he can stare pitilessly into her face before slamming his fist into her left eye.

To Madge the beating seems to last for hours before the men finally tired of hitting her. When they've finished, they stand silently over her limp and battered form sweating and panting heavily before one the men spits on her and moves to unzip his pants.

Severely beaten and unable to move, Madge just watches her assailants through blacked eyes, feeling completely disconnected from the world. The only thing managing to permeate her numb mind is a desperate wish that she had died last night with her family.

A long howl suddenly pierces through the thick night air, and the men freeze in their track looking around anxiously.

"What the fuck was that?" one of them asks, checking the shadows of the trees and bushes surrounding them nervously.

"That sounded like a god damn wolf!"

"Don't be an idiot;" The other responds "There aren't any wolves in the middle of Detroit!" But he didn't look so confident with the howl rings out again. Something rustles the bushes behind them and both men turned, wide eyed, they scream in terror.

Madge still dazed and barley holding onto consciousness turns her head to look. She forces herself to blink several times, not believing what she is seeing.

A large canine, the size of a small bear steps silently out onto the dirt path. Its golden eyes flashed violently as it crouches, a growl low deep in its throat. Hackles raising the hair of its slick dark silver fur coat. The men look from the wolf to Madge and back again as they slowly back away from the beast. In seconds they have lost their nerve and run away, leaving Madge behind with a potentially hungry wolf.

A cold wet nose brushes over her hairline and Madge closes her eyes, giving in to a soul deep exhaustion that had been dogging her for hours. Something grips her body in a firm grip, but she can't bring herself to care about the knowledge that she is probably going to be eaten alive by a giant wolf.

_Well_ _at least this nightmare will finally be over. _Madge thinks to herself, feeling relieved and at peace with herself for the first time in 38 hours. Sighing, she relaxes into the warmth surrounding the odd bobbing sensation she feels as she slips into oblivion.

* * *

It's been a long and hard two weeks since Madge first woke up to find herself tucked safely away into a twin size bed at the Brightmoor Woman's shelter that was located close to the park where she was found beaten the morning after her assault.

When she had asks Mrs. Everdeen, the kindly older woman who tends to her wounds about who had rescued her and brought her here, all she gets from the woman is a vague description.

"He was a tall young man with olive skin, dark hair and piercing grey eyes," She would say simply.

"He came by with you at around four o'clock in the morning, nearly pounding down the front door; nearly scaring girls and me to death. He was yelling something about a girl who had been badly beaten."

"I went outside and there he stood, cradling you in his arms like a baby! I got of some girls to help me carry you inside and to an empty bed, and he stuck around just long enough to make sure you were in good hands before leaving without a word."

Madge hopes she would remember something of her savior in the weeks after that it took for her to rest and heal from her injuries. But all of what she can remember is blazing flames, vampires and beatings, all in a vivid detail that haunts her in both her waking hours and dreams. The only respite she receives from the constant barrage of horrific flashbacks is the brief calm and safety she feels when she remembers the image of a majestic dark grey, almost silver wolf that seems to almost be watching over her with warm golden eyes.

She spends a full fourteen days in the safety of the woman's shelter, before receiving remorseful notice from Mrs. Everdeen that she would have to move out soon.

"State funding only allows us to house individual girls for a few weeks before we are forced to let them go to make room for new arrivals." The motherly woman tells her in an explanation that Madge is positive that she has repeated too many times over the years.

"This is the best I can do to help you," She says handing Madge a strip of paper with a name and address on it.

"I have a friend that owns a bar down town who is in need of some help. It won't pay much, and the hours will be long, but he's a good man and will treat you right."

Mrs. Everdeen surprises her when she pulled Madge into a tight hug. "I know you're all on your own, and I'm sorry I can't do more to help." She says holding Madge in a way that lets the young girl know that she wishes she didn't have to go.

"I understand." Madge sniffs willing herself not to cry as she turns to leave. "Thank you for everything."

She waves goodbye before heading down the street and towards what she hopes will be her future place of employment.

* * *

"And you're positive you're twenty-one?" Asks the owner of the bar- District Twelve, who goes by the name of Haymitch Abernathy.

Madge nods, staring fixedly down at her feet.

Haymitch sighs tiredly, giving the girl a once over. She looks barely old enough to drive, let alone serve alcohol at a bar.

Mrs. Everdeen had called him up earlier that afternoon, explaining to Haymitch some of the girl's circumstances and history, and asking him to do her a favor and look after the girl for a little while.

As a bartender he's was no stranger to tragic stories, and all to many come from abused and abandoned young girls, but seeing her standing there before him, a bruise fading under one eye and an expression hopeless written across her face, Haymitch knows he doesn't have it in him to turn her away. She looks too much like Maysilee.

"Fine, can you start training tonight," He says gruffly, watching relief flit across the girl's face. He pauses, eyeing her clothes which looked to be three sizes too big.

"There are also some clothes upstairs in my apartment that will probably fit you, and I have a spare room you can use to sleep in until you find somewhere else you to stay."

"Thank you so much!"

"Don't thank me yet." Haymitch muttered. "You haven't met the patrons of the bar yet."

In actuality the majority of people that are regulars at his bar aren't that bad. But faced with his deceased wife's doppelganger he doesn't have it in him to behave as anything other than a gruff old barkeeper.

**Well that's it folks for chapter 2, part 1. I intended it to be longer, but I get impatient easily and I think that it's a pretty good length for writing and editing it so quickly after I released the first chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to pump out part two within the next few days.  
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**Special shout out to: Aquiliz, Asianinvasion0530 and Andinify for their reviews on the first chapter. You guy motivated me to quickly finish this chapter. You rock!**

**Tell me what you think about chapter two part one in a review.  
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**See you soon!**

**AimedSiren**


	3. Chapter 2 part 2

**Alright! Chapter two, part two! This is the longest chapter I've managed to write so far, so as always I hope you guys enjoy it. I promise I'm done torturing Madge (mostly) after this. The story has been pretty dark and intense so far, but it should lighten up considerably in the next chapters. And for those that are wondering when Gale is going to make an appearance, wait just a little longer and you'll be rewarded in chapter 4!**

**Enjoy!**

Working at the bar turns out to be a god send. Sure the drunken patrons often made comments that make her feel uncomfortable. And yeah, she has had to slap the occasional wandering hand away from her back side more times than she would care to count, but considering her circumstances; Madge considers herself as extremely lucky. She has a job, clothes on her back, food in her belly and a safe place to sleep at night.

Haymitch proves to be a fair, if not a little distant boss. He has a tendency to communicate using as few words as possible; more times than not using an inarticulate grunt as a way of answering to a question. Madge spends the first few weeks of her employment being shown the ins and out of bar management, and learns to make and mix what feels like hundreds of different alcoholic beverages. As soon as Haymitch is confident of her ability run _District Twelve _by herself; he organizes their work schedules so that Madge works the bar from 4 pm to 10 pm, before he take over from 10pm to 4 am. They both work four hours before the bar opens doing the prepping and cleaning necessary to keep the establishment properly maintained.

Despite working 10 plus hours a day, 7 days a week, and the challenge of trying to communicate with a man that seemed reluctant to use words that consist of more than one syllable, Madge feels like she has too much down time. She dreads the moments before and after work where she had time to think and remember.

Disturbing dreams and nightmares prevented her from sleeping more than a few hours a night, and every second she isn't distracted she is tormented by flashbacks and memories of things she would do anything to forget. Her mind and body are quickly pushed past its limits.

Suffering from lack of sleep and PTSD, Madge is on the brink of a mental break down; when a customer notices her condition and offers her a solution.

"Here," a regular named Thom slides one of the two shots of whisky he had just order towards her, the dim bar light reflecting off of the balding spot on the back of his head. "You look you need this more than I do. That should help with whatever is haunting you."

Madge stares at the amber liquid and hesitates for a second before downing the shot, relishing the burning sensation it makes as it goes down her throat, and taking comfort in warmth it leaves in her stomach.

Grunting his approval, Thom orders two more drinks, gesturing for her to take another one. Madge does so gratefully. He's right, it does help.

"So kid, you care to share what's eating you up inside?" he asks after their fourth round of shots. Madge, who's tongue has loosened up from the buzz mumbles something incoherently about someone ruining her life.

Pausing, Tom looks at her over the rim of his glass and takes a sip before commenting, "Stop feeling sorry for you kid. If there is one thing you should know, it's that when somebody fucks with you, you have to fuck them back with interest."

He takes another sip of his drink before adding, "And if I've learned one thing in life, it's that the only thing better than a strong drink is revenge." Madge nods, pours them two more drinks and toasts the man. Deciding she's in the mood for a lot more than a strong drink.

* * *

Madge carefully tacks another newspaper clipping to her wall; once satisfied with her placement, she picks up a half empty bottle of vodka from the ground and steps back to admire her work. The walls of her room are covered with dozens and dozens of various newspaper articles she has painstakingly procured over the past three months.

It has become an obsession for her to analyze every story that she can get her hands. Scouring the news for anything remotely supernatural, and paying extra attention for any mention of the name Snow.

Madge twists open the bottle of Vodka and take a long drink of the clear liquid. If she drinks enough of it, she doesn't have to remember when she's awake and wont dream of it when she sleeps. Between searching the news for supernatural activity and drinking her waking hours into oblivion; Madge prepares methodically for the moment that will set her free.

The Snows own a chain large chain of bars and casinos on the west side of the city. After spending hours of careful research and observation, Madge is able to pinpoint the exact time and location to enact her revenge.

She watches from the shadows as Coriolanus Snow enters through the back door of one of his many gambling dens, leaving a pale skinned guard posted outside. Madge waits, taking a few minutes to finish her bottle of scotch before making her way towards the person standing between and her and the sweet satisfaction of revenge.

A fight breaks out down the alley way, effectively distracting the guard, into turning his back to her, as he looks to see what's going on. Madge is grateful for the stroke of luck as she pulls a sharp wooden stake from her bag. The man hasn't noticed her approach, and she lifts her hand high above her head, preparing to drive her weapon deep into his unsuspecting back. Her hand began its decent down, when she is suddenly yanked away from her would be victim.

"What the-"

Before the guard even has the chance to take notice, Haymitch has removed the stake from her and has hidden it in the pockets of his trench coat. Seconds later the man spins around, to see who is making the commotion behind him.

He glares at them and Madge's jaw drops when she notices that his eyes are brown. She sobers instantly, he isn't a vampire. She almost killed a man like she would a monster!

"Sorry about that!" Haymitch says nonchalantly. "She's had too much to drink and mistook you for someone else; silly girl has a knack for getting herself into trouble!"

Haymitch laughs and shakes his head good-humoredly; grabbing Madge by the shoulders as he leads her out of the alleyway. The guard, not amused watches them leave suspiciously.

Once out of danger; they walk silently back to _District Twelve_. Haymitch refusing to remove his hand from her shoulder as he frog marches her back. Once at the bar, he shoves the girl inside and slams the door shut behind him. Its ten minutes past opening time, but he makes no move to flip the sign from _'Closed'_ to '_We're Open!'_

They stand and stare at each other in silence. Madge tries her best to look fierce as she glares back at him but fails when she suddenly she feels sick. Barley making it to the bathroom in time, she vomits violently into the toilet bowl. Eyes water her sinuses burn painfully as she heaves over and over again. She doesn't even notice Haymitch has followed her into the bathroom and is holding back her hair, murmuring soothing words.

Madge tries to suppress a whimper when she has successfully emptied everything from her stomach but continues to violently dry heave. Her body cramps and she collapses onto the floor. Enjoying the cool feeling of the tiles against her hot skin, she closes her eyes against the bright florescent lighting of the room and falls asleep in seconds.

She doesn't wake when Haymitch grunts, throwing her over his shoulder and carries her up the stairs. Kicking open the door to her room, he manages to nudge the light switch on so he that can carefully navigate his way around the dozen or so empty liquor bottles that litter the floor without breaking his neck.

Haymitch makes it safely to Madge's unmade bed, and gently lays the girl down; pulling the covers up over her. He pauses for a moment to watch her slumber, the alcohol in her system allowing her to sleep peacefully. And for once since he has known her, she looks relaxed.

Sighing heavily, he slips his hands into his pockets, turning to leave. It's then that he notices, and stops cold in his tracks.

"What the-"

* * *

Sunlight pours into the room through the broken shutters that hang over the window, falling directly onto Madge's sleeping face. She stirs, crinkling her nose and pulling a pillow over her face. She feels like shit. Her tongue is like a piece of sandpaper in her mouth and her head throbs painfully. But Madge is no stranger to hangovers.

"Finally, you're awake." A gruff voice says, none to softly.

Wincing, Madge ventures out from beneath the soothing darkness of her covers and into the light. Blinded momentary by the sun's radiance she has to blink several times before she is able to focus on Haymitch, who is leaning against the wall.

"Mornin' sunshine, you have some explaining to do." He says, walking over to her. "Take the pill and drink that whole glass of water." Which Madge does without complaint and Haymitch waits patiently for her to finish before continuing-

"Now, why don't you explain to me what you were planning to do in that ally way and what the hell is up with your choice of wallpaper. " He says pulling a stool over so he can sit comfortably beside her bed. Madge swallows hard, staring at the glass she is gripping tightly between her hands. Taking a deep breath, she launches into her story- from the beginning.

"And so I've been following Snow around closely for over a week when you found me in that alleyway." Madge finishes some two hours later, glancing up to look Haymitch; trying to gauge his reaction. He hadn't uttered a single word since she had begun.

The silence stretches out between them for several long minutes before he finally breaks it.

"And so you think you were just going to walk in there and take down a den full of vampires with a single wooden stake?" Haymitch asks, exasperated. "Do you have a death wish or something?"

His tone is condescending and it sets Madge on edge. She grits her teeth and clutches at her bed sheets with fisted hands as she glares angrily at him.

"If you haven't already noticed, I have NOTHING left to live for! Why shouldn't I have a death wish? My family is dead and hell, as far as the rest of the world is concerned so am I! For over three months now!" She seethes, but a sudden realization distracts her from her anger.

"Wait," Madge says slowly, looking curiously at Haymitch. "How do you know about vampires?"

Haymitch stares at her, obviously uncomfortable with the sudden change of direction the conversation just took.

"That's none of your business, kid. This is about you, not me."

Madge glares at him, frowning. "I just told you me entire life story. I think I deserve an answer to one question!"

The middle aged barkeeper meets her angry glare and pauses, obviously thinking his next move over carefully.

"I know about vampires because I used to hunt them, many, many years ago," He says slowly.

"Wha- wait, you hunt vampires?" Madge gasped, shocked

"Hunted. Past tense. Along with werewolves, demons, ghouls and an large assortment of other nasty creatures." He clarified

Madge nearly scrambles out of bed. "Could you teach me how to fight them? And kill them?" She asks excitedly.

"No."

"What? Why not?"

"Because one, it's dangerous, and two, your just going to end trying to go after the Snows again and will die a senseless death."

"But regardless of if your teach me or not, I'm still going to try it again. So you minus well help give me a fighting chance!" Madge argues trying to reason with him.

"I won't train someone that's suicidal. It's a waste of my time… "He paused and awkwardly grabs Madge's hand, looking directly into her eyes, "You're not going to fined closure for what happened to you and your family though revenge. Believe me, I know."

Madge stares back into stormy grey eyes, seeing emotions of pain, loss and suffering in them that she knows are reflected back in her own.

"I know… and after everything you've done for me, I won't disrespect you by lying to your face by feeding you some bull shit lie about how I don't won't use what I learn to avenge my family, because you and I both know that would be a lie," Madge squeezes his hand once before removing it to stare a scar that is burned into the palm of her hand. A few seconds pass before she looks up and says-

"But it's more than just that. I want to be strong for once in my life! I'm sick and tired of being the victim, and I want to learn how to fight so that never happenings again."

She stands; walking over to the wall and lightly runs her finger along the mass of newspaper clippings compiled there.

"Hundreds of people are being victimized by these monsters every day. This very moment even; and nobody cares enough to do anything about it, "Madge traces a finger tip over a picture of a particularly brutal attack allegedly done by a large stray dog. The dog has yet to be found.

"I want to be able to at least have a chance of preventing what has happened to me, of ever happening to another person again." She turns back to Haymitch, eyes watering from anger and sorrow.

"I doubt I'll even be able to much help much in the end, but at least I would have tried and not have just stood idly by as innocent people are ruthlessly murdered!"

Haymitch watched her carefully, his face expressionless as an uncomfortable silence grew between .

Madge had just about given up hope and turned to begin tearing the newspaper from the wall when Haymitch spoke.

"Fine. I'll train you, but only if it's on my terms." Madge spun around to stare at him, barley able to believe it.

"Do you understand?"

She nodded, a huge grin breaking out across her face.

"Thank you so much!"

Haymitch sighed and got to his feet.

"Don't thank me yet." He paused, looking at his watch. "Because 12 hours from now you won't."

* * *

It was probably one of the hardest things Haymitch had ever had to watch. And considering his history, that meant a lot. Madge's body was reacting more violently to withdraw than he had originally anticipated.

Within the first seven hours, she sat huddled in her bed shaking and sweating heavily. Having to get up frequently to run to the bathroom where she threw up violently. Haymitch tries to help the girl get as comfortable as possible, knowing through painful experience that it was only going to get worse.

The next 24-48 hours were a living hell. He watches helplessly as Madge's body was wracked by severe seizures, and feels his heart break as she begs him repeatedly for a drink. Confused and disoriented from a high fever, his constant refusal enrages her, she curses at him violently. Her blood shot eyes burn with hatred as spittle flies from her lips.

The worse comes when the hallucinations hit. Haymitch knows that the sight of Madge lying on the ground in the fetal position screaming and crying as she cradles her head between her arms will be forever seared into his mind. Rocking back and forth, she jerks violently as she sees and feels things that aren't there.

Madge sobs ceaselessly; reliving every moment she had drank originally to forget. Around her, flames are engulfing the room and lick at her skin, burning her alive… When the flames finally die down, _he _comes; taunting and watching her writhe in agony with glowing red eyes.

Just when Madge thought it couldn't get any worse, Adam comes bursting through the door of the room and runs to her side. He tells her everything is going to be alright, and gathers her up in his arms. Cradling her protectively, he is oblivious of the danger watching them intently just a few feet away.

Madge struggles frantically to free from Adams embrace and tries to desperately push him away and back through the relative safety of the door. Adam doesn't budge concern for her written all over his face.

Suddenly something hot and wet splatters across her face. She watches in horror as Adam's expression twists to one of upmost agony. Madge shrieks, scrabbling to grab hold onto him as he is jerked out of her grasp and dragged away. He screams out in terror and agony as the vampire pounces onto his writhing body and rips him to shreds. Anguished, she screams unable to move. Her hands fist themselves tightly in to her hair as she watches her bodyguard and friend die once again before her eyes.

Laughter; cruel and horrible laughter fills the room. It rings in her ears, and echoes endlessly through her mind. Madge doubles over and tries to cover her ears, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. Warm breath lazily grazes her neck. She feels him pause for a moment, smelling her deeply; before sinking his fangs deep into her skin. Madge screams, writhing in pain. Then feeding vampire suddenly jerks away and disappears.

Dazed, she stumbles to her feet; twisting and turning, as she franticly searches for any sign of where he went. Instead of ruthless red eyes, she finds herself reflected in the surface of a mirror- covered head to toe in crimson blood. A whimper escapes her lips as she stares at herself, unable to look away. Transfixed; the world behind her goes up in flames.

Abruptly somebody grabs her and is shaking her roughly. Madge opens her eyes slowly to find herself on the cool ground, lying flat on her back. The flames have disappeared and Haymitch's face floats hazily before her eyes. He lifts her to gently cradle her in his lap, stroking her hair back in an attempt to calm her. Madge watches his lips move but her ears are unable to make out the words.

"It's almost over Madge; you're going to be okay. Just try to get some rest and it will all be over soon." He murmurs gently. Rocking her slowly, he feels her body relax as she drifts off into well-deserved rest.

**Whew, this chapter was easy but hard to write… Does that make any sense? For those of you that didn't figure it out, Madge was going through withdraw from alcohol abuse. From what I've read its super painful and it's so dangerous that you can die from it if you cut yourself off cold turkey. I hope I did a good job conveying the effects and severity of her condition. **

**Anyways, thank you all for reading and I'd like to give a special thanks to everyone that has dropped me a review. You guys rock my world and motivate me to keep writing. Keep it up! **

**Oh, and keep an eye out for another Gadge story I'll be releasing soon. It's going to be titled "Don't let the Underdog get you down" and it's a fanfic where Madge is reaped in the 74****th**** Hunger Games. I know that it's already been done a thousand times over, but I can guarantee you that its' going to be different than any other one you've read yet. It should out by the end of this week, or early the next so if you see it around, give it a shot and I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised. **

**Until next time,**

**AimedSiren**


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